Chapter 33

The last patient had left the surgery. Nate was cleaning the examination room and Morwenna was straightening her desk, preparing to leave. Al was at the pub, and she knew he was going to need extra help that evening, it being Friday and his emotions running the gamut from anger, grief, despair, worry, hope, all concern over his dad. Martin came out to reception and approached her, "Umm … Morwenna, would you join Nathaniel and me in the consultation room?"

So much for leaving early she thought. "Yeah, sure."

She followed him into the office and watched as he took the seat behind his desk, motioning her to take one of the two chairs opposite him. Nate was already seated and she gave him a questioning look. He responded with a slight shrug and raised eyebrows.

Martin cleared his throat and folded his hands together on his desk. "There will be some changes to the surgery in the next few months … um … I have accepted a position at Truro hospital to head up the vascular unit."

"What?" Morwenna cried out, "You can't leave us Doc."

Nate remained silent, waiting to hear how this change would affect his job. He liked working for Dr. Ellingham. He had been given more responsibility than he had ever had in his previous job and it was very rewarding …. And he had learned a good bit of medicine from the Doc as well.

'I'm not leaving you. It is a temporary position until the vascular unit is fully staffed and functioning. Chris Parsons, head of the PCT has assigned a locum to fill in for the next two months or so until Louisa has her baby. He will start here on Monday."

"Sounds like congratulations are in order, Doc." Nate spoke up in as positive a tone as he could muster. "What about your surgical simulation project?"

"Ah … yes. I hope to continue working on that in my office here at home. That would mean that I may be available two days a week if you should need me. Which is unlikely. The locum has stellar credentials. His name is Doctor Edward Chen, an émigré from Hong Kong. He has fifteen years' experience working as a primary care physician in Hong Kong, and two years working at the walk-in clinic at St Thomas' in London. His references are impeccable."

"Wonder why he's in Cornwall working as a locum." Morwenna was sceptical. It seemed to her that working in a small village surgery was a step down from a busy London practice, and it wasn't even a permanent position.

"I'm told his family wasn't happy in London and he is working as a locum to test the waters, see if they like the slower lifestyle here in Cornwall."

"If he's looking for a slower pace, he's not likely to find it in your practice Dr. Ellingham … or should we call you Mr. Ellingham?" Nate had joined the Portwenn practice expecting a gentler pace and had discovered that first impressions could be way off the mark.

'Um … uh … Doctor Ellingham here in Portwenn …for now." Martin hadn't thought about how he should be addressed. He supposed that in Truro, he would be addressed as Mr. Ellingham, but here in Portwenn, he would prefer to be called Doctor Ellingham. That was the name by which the locals knew him, although most of them would still refer to him as Doc Martin, a name he didn't care for, but to which he had grown accustomed.

He continued, "Doctor Chen will visit us in surgery tomorrow at noon after surgery hours. It would be good if you both could be here for a few minutes to meet him. We can orient him to our physical set-up; and Nathaniel you can discuss briefly how you will work together. His first full day will be Monday. I would recommend starting as you and I did at first, working side by side so you can be comfortable with each other's expertise. You can use the phlebotomy room for overflow as we have been doing until a separate office can be fitted up where the lounge is currently."

"Is he going to live upstairs like you did?" Morwenna was concerned about impinging on the new doc's privacy.

"No, Mrs. Trappet is going to show him and his wife several holiday cottages for let in the village tomorrow morning. They are hoping to find a suitable home and move in tomorrow afternoon and Sunday."

Morwenna fidgeted in her chair, "Okay, then. Are we done here Doc? I really need to go see Al and help him out at the pub."

"No. There's one more thing. I've hired Dennis Dobbs to come in and enclose the lounge area for the second consulting room. He assures me he can make the necessary modifications by the end of next week without too much disruption."

Morwenna lowered her head, shaking it back and forth, "Too many changes all at once Doc."

"Yes. I know it will be unsettling at first, but I'm sure it will all be sorted soon. We all have to buck up."

He stood and walked toward the door, indicating that it was time to close up the surgery, then remembered, "Morwenna, one more thing."

Morwenna turned around, her shoulders slumping, 'Yeah doc?"

"I'm going to need a driver to take me to hospital in the mornings and bring me back in the evenings. Do you know of anyone who would be suitable?"

'Yeah. I can think of a couple of blokes who might be available. Let me talk with Al, see what he thinks."

"I would prefer that they have their own car, perhaps a taxi service. I will need someone totally reliable and punctual, who won't yammer on and on so I can read whilst we are on the road."

"Yeah. I know Doc. I'll get back to you. Can I go now?"

"Yes."

Morwenna rushed out of the surgery door and down the steps as quickly as her legs would carry her for fear that the Doc would call her back with 'one more thing'. She hurried down the hill and into the pub. Al was behind the counter and Caitlin was scurrying back and forth with dishes from the kitchen for the early diners. Their summer help had gone on to other jobs, but even with the decrease in tourists, it had become clear that they would need some additional help and they had hired Mandy a week ago to help out with the evening rush. She was a quick learner, but things still backed up at the height of the dinner hour. Bert had been a bit slow behind the counter, but he knew the business, needed little supervision, and had given them that extra bit of help they needed during the evening blitz, but now he was gone, probably permanently even if he recovered. Al had been pressuring Morwenna to quit the surgery and help out at the pub, but she liked her job and she really liked working for the Doc. Even though he had married the school's headmistress, most of the village still thought he was a tosser, but she knew better.

As soon as she had hung up her jacket and stowed her purse behind the bar, Al put her to work waiting and bussing tables. She tried to get him alone for a few minutes to tell him the surgery news, but it was late, almost closing time before they had a break. She was tired and hungry; she'd grabbed a piece of fish when she first came in, but hadn't eaten anything afterwards. During a lull, she pulled him away from the counter, 'I've got some news," but before she could tell him, a patron came up wanting a pint. Al returned to the tap and Morwenna grabbed her purse, "I'll be going then. Have to be at work by half eight tomorrow."

"Sure." He passed the pint to his customer and took his coins. "There you go Steve." He turned to Morwenna as she pulled on her jacket and asked, "Mor, what did you want to tell me?"

"I'll tell you later, okay? It's been a long day."

As she walked out the door, she thought to herself, 'No way am I working full time in the pub. Al will just have to find somebody else." As she closed the door behind her, she noticed Joe and Janice walking up the roadway towards Janice's cottage. It was apparent that they had both drunk a bit too much as they staggered up the road, lurching this way and that, laughing and giggling as they playfully batted at each other. Morwenna tried to scurry around them, but Janice stumbled into her as she evaded one of Joe's bumbling attempts to kiss her.

"Oops. Sorry Morwenna." Janice giggled and reached out to steady herself against Morwenna's arm.

Morwenna smiled at her, "Maybe you two should get on home. Wouldn't want the local PC to take you in on public drunkenness charges."

"Not to worry Morwenna. I'm a fellow officer. We take care of our own." Joe stood up proudly, seeming to forget that he was the local Police Constable.

Morwenna leaned back with a grin on her face and retorted, "You do, do you?"

"Oh, oh", Janice suddenly reached out to hug Morwenna, "I heard about Bert. I'm so sorry. Will he be okay?"

"Doc says he's stable. Al and I are hopeful." She wiped a tear from her eye, "I've got to go … work in the morning, you know."

"Yeah. Come see me. I'll give you a free manicure."

"I'll do that. Bye." She gave them a small wave, and hurried up to her cottage to find a moment of peace while waiting for Al to come home.

Author's note: I want to give a big thank you to all of you who read this story. I hope you have enjoyed it so far. I also want especially to thank those of you who leave a review or comment. As other writer's have said, reviews are what keep us writing; they are what motivates us when the old 'writer's block' hits.

Now, back to my keyboard ...